Psychometric Assessment & Self Development; Instructions & Guidance

By Shajat Mahmood

Psychometric tests help people learn about themselves. Your tutors might use them to find out how best to help you move forward. This might include finding out;

Which situations you do well in and where you might struggle
What motivates you
What learning activities best match your personality
How you prefer to learn and work with other people and
How quickly you are likely to learn

There are two types of psychometric test you might be asked to take.

Ability tests measure different aspects of your intelligence. They are useful in finding out what you are going to be good at learning and what you might find difficult to learn. They can also help your tutor find out how quickly you might learn. These tests are usually multiple choice and have one right answer for each question.

Personality assessments are different to ability tests because they don’t have right or wrong answers. These assessments are designed to help you find out about how you might behave in different situations. This helps your tutor find activities which you will enjoy and get the most benefit from.

Sometimes people are nervous about taking a test. The following advice will help you to do your best.

Read the instructions very carefully so you know what to do. Your tutor should tell you what you’re supposed to do at the start to the test. If you struggle reading the instructions or questions ask for help.
Some tests start with practice questions. Don’t worry if you make mistakes on these, they’re just there to get you warmed up.
Don’t spend too long on any one question. You can usually go back to questions you’re struggling with.
Be careful to mark your answers properly. If you change your answer, make sure your final choice is clear. Ask for help if you’re unsure.

If you are taking an ability test, it will most likely be multiple choice. To do these:

Read the question carefully
Rule out the obvious untrue answers.
Concentrate on the answers which are left.
Don’t spend too long on each question. If you have 15 minutes for 15 questions, you can spend up to 1 minute on each question.
Check your answers as you go along.

If you don’t like working this way then the following advice may help:

Go back over your answers at the end of the test.
if something is distracting you or goes wrong let your tutor know straight away.
Its good to be a little bit nervous, so don’t worry about worrying.

Psychometric tests are designed to help you achieve your best. Don’t worry about the results. Don’t try to cheat. Normally tests have built in checks to find out if you have cheated. There is no point in cheating. If you get a higher score than you should have, you’ll get work which is too difficult for you.

If you are taking a personality test, there are no right or wrong answers. For these tests:

Read the instructions very carefully.
Normally you will be asked to choose a statement which best describes you.
Sometimes you will be asked to sort a set of words in the order they best describe you.
Your first reaction is probably the best one, so go with that.

Psychometric tests are designed to help you achieve your best. Don’t worry about the results. Don’t try to cheat. Normally tests have built in checks to find out if you have cheated. There is no point in cheating. If you lie on a personality assessment, you may not enjoy or benefit as much from the job or the course.

For more information on psychometric testing see

www.learningexcellence.org (link active from 22/03/09)

www.makeprogresshappen.co.uk

Mock interviews based on comprehensive online psychometric assessments can be sourced from Make Progress Happen. Contact us on +44 (0) 1274 501 500.